Web delivery apparatus



Oct. 23, 1934.

F. D. FOWLER WEB DELIVERY APPARATUS Filed Aug. 31,, 1933 Mm? J5EE.FZFUM/EE 7 wz-ud jbetween the oonvolutions of fabric.

Patented Oct. 23, 1934 v UNITED STATES.

WEB DELIVERY APPARATUS Fred D. Fowler, Newton, Mass., assignor to HoodRubber Company, Inc., Watertown, Mass, a corporation of DelawareApplication August 31, 1933, Serial No. 687,593

3 Claims. (Cl. 242-75) This invention relates to devices for deliveringa web of sheet material to machines for performing operations upon thesame and is especially useful in unwinding and delivering unvulcanizedrubberized fabric or similar material.

In the manufacture of rubber articles it is often necessary to performoperations such as cutting, coating, and the like upon a web ofrubberized sheet material such as frictioned fabric and to deliver saidmaterial to the machinesadapted to perform the operations without slackand under substantially uniform tension. Such fabrics or other webs areusually wound upon mandrels with a non-adhesive liner wound When thefabric is unrolled the varying adhesion of the fabric to the liner andthe gradually decreasing radius of the roll causes variation in theforce required to unwind it. Where it becomes necessary to supplyunwound fabric at a substantially uniform low tension it is advisable toprovide separate means for unwinding and delivering the fabric.

The principal objects of the present invention are to provide deliveryof a web from a roll thereof at substantially uniform tension, andautomatically to compensate for undue variations in the tension of thedelivered Web.

Other subjects will appear from the following description and theaccompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the device showing a web of fabric,portions of the device and the web being broken away.

Fig. 2 is an end View of certain details showing the tension regulatingdevice as applied to the web, parts being omitted and parts broken away.

Referring to the drawing, the roll of fabric interwound with a liner isdesignated by the numeral 10, and is loosely mounted on a bar 11rotatably supported in checks 12 on a suitable stationary frame 13. Theframe also rotatably supports on chocks 14 (one only being shown) a bar15 on which a shell 16 for receiving the liner 17 is mounted.

The end of the liner from roll 10 is started around shell 16, and theweb 18 passed thereover to drive the liner windupv at the propervelocity.

The pulling mechanism comprises a roll 19 fixed to a shaft 20 rotatablysupported in a pair of brackets 21 (only one being shown) mounted on theframe 13. A flanged pulley 22 is fixed to shaft 20. A motor 23 mountedon the floor below pulley 22 is provided with a pulley 24. Pulley 2,4drives pulley 22 through a loosely mounted slip belt 25. The arrangementis such that the belt 25 normally Will slip on the pulley 24 and willadvance the web only when the force required to unwind the web is notexcessive and/or the pull on the outgoing web resulting from increase inthe velocity of the machine performing the succeeding operation is notexcessive.

To compensate for abnormally high tension resulting from excessive speedof the succeeding machine or excessive resistance of the web tounwinding from the roll, as where the stock is tacky, mechanism isprovided as follows:

A lever 26 has one end pivoted on shaft 20 and at its lower end carriesa pulley 2'7 journaled on a stud 28. A roll 29 is mounted on a shaft 30having one end journaled in the lever 26 and the other end journaled inthe lower end of a link (not shown) which has its upper end journaled onshaft 20 at the opposite end of the machine, the arrangement being suchthat roll 29 may be moved orbitally about roll 19 by increase of tensionin the web.

A gear 31 fixed to roll 29 engages a gear 32 fixed to shaft 20. Thepulley 27 normally is suspended near the slack reach of the belt 25 andis held in such position by a spring 33. Should the lever 26 swing inthe direction of travel of the web the pulley carried thereby will pressagainst the belt and tighten the same.

The roll 29 preferably is provided with a helical ridge 32, the helixbeing the right-handed on one end of the roll and left-handed on theother to spread the fabric and smooth out wrinkles.

A guide roll 33 is supported from the frame 13 by bearings 34 and servesto maintain a uniform arc of contact of the fabric around the roll 19regardless of the diameter of the liner 1? built upon the drum 16.

The operation of the device is as follows: The end of the liner havingbeen started on the roll 16 and the web of fabric passed thereover, thefabric is threaded under roll 33, over roll 19 and under roll 29 fromwhich it passes to the machine performing the succeeding operation. Themotor 23, through the slip belt 25, drives the device to cause thefabric to be unwound from roll 10.

When, due to increase in adhesion in the roll and/or excessive speed ofthe succeeding machine, the tension in the web increases, the forcestending to straighten the web where it passes around rolls 19 and 29causes the arm 26 to swing the pulley 2'7 into engagement With belt lob25 against the force of the springs 33, thereby decreasing slippage ofthe belt and increasing the speed of the web.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for unwinding and delivering a web from a roll thereof,said apparatus comprising a pair of rolls about which theweb, istrainedin a reversely curved path, at least one of said rolls being bodilymovable by a movement of translation when acted upon by the tensionforces in the web, means for frictionally driving said rolls, and meansactuated by movement of the bodily movable roll under increased tensionin the web for increasing the velocity or said rolls.

2. Apparatus for unwinding and delivering a web from a roll thereof,said apparatus comprising a pair of rolls about which the web is trainedin a reversably curved path, one of said rolls being on a fixed axis,the other roll being orbitally movable with respect thereto when actedupon by tension forces in the web, a slip-belt for driving said rolls,and a belt-tightener actuated by movement of the movable roll to tightenthe belt.

3. Apparatus for unwinding and delivering a web from a roll thereof,said apparatus comprising a pair of rolls about which the web is trainedin a reversely curved path, one of the card rolls being on a fixed axis,the other roll being movable perpendicular to its axis, means fornormally holding the rolls in one relation, a lever actuated by themovable roll, means includ ing a slip belt for driving said rolls, andan idler pulley carried by said lever and adapted when said lever ismoved against said holding means under increased tension of the web toengage the belt and thereby increase the velocity of the 1 rolls.

FRED D. FOWLER.

